MINI USA ATTRACTS MORE THAN 3,000 OWNERS TO MINI TAKES THE STATES 2018 FINALE AND RAISES MORE THAN ONE MILLION MEALS FOR FEEDING AMERICA

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – August 2, 2018 – MINI USA confirmed today that its biennial MINI owners road rally MINI TAKES THE STATES 2018 (MTTS) attracted more than 3,000 owners to event’s finale and that the rally raised more than one million meals for charity partner Feeding America. MINI USA also confirmed that fundraising efforts to support Feeding America will remain open until the end of the year at MINITAKESTHESTATES.com.

The biennial trek attracted more than 3,600 MINI owners who took part in the Rally to the Rockies, with 1,000+ MINIs on the road each day. The group of loyal MINI owners travelled more than 5,000 miles through 15 cities and 14 states. At times the group swelled to more than 1,000 owners and 500 vehicles of all shapes, colors and sizes on each route.

The legendary road rally for MINI owners and enthusiasts, came to an end on July 22 at Keystone Resort in Keystone, Colorado, after an epic road trip starting from both Portland, Oregon and Orlando, Florida. The MINI community, with participants from all over the U.S. and around the world, took to America’s backroads and byways to #DriveForMore. Nine days after departing from the east and west coasts, participants joined together for a weekend of celebration of everything MINI.

“To see more than 3,000 MINI owners and over 1,000 MINI models from across our product line at the MTTS 2018 finale was both amazing and inspiring for me and all the MINI employees on-site for the event,” said Thomas Felbermair, Vice President MINI Americas Region. “We are also very proud of the MINI community for their efforts to support Feeding America to get healthy food to Americans in need.”

MINI USA also surprised the loyal community of MINI owners with the debut of the new MINI John Cooper Works International Orange Edition. A small fleet of the boldly-colored, limited production special edition was on display each morning and traveled on both the Eastern and Western route with the rest of the owners. The MINI John Cooper Works International Orange Edition will arrive at dealerships across the U.S. in Fall 2018.

While the journey kicked off from two separate locations, everyone gathered together in Keystone for a weekend of fun MINI activities and adventures while raising money for a great cause. Having two separate routes gave more MINI enthusiasts the opportunity to exchange even more stories and experiences from their drive and talk all things MINI.

Official press photos and b-roll from the entire event are available for download on MINIUSANEWS.com.  Browse through a collection of amazing stories from the road captured by the MINI USA team on the MTTS 2018 Blog on MINIUSANEWS.com.  Media interested in updates on MINI USA can also follow us on Twitter at @MINIUSANEWS.

About MINI in the US

MINI is an independent brand of the BMW Group. In the United States, MINI USA operates as a business unit of BMW of North America, LLC, located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey and includes the marketing and sales organizations for the MINI brand. The MINI USA sales organization is represented in the U.S. through a network of 126 MINI passenger car dealers in 39 states. MINI USA began selling vehicles in the U.S. in 2002 with the introduction of the MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S Hardtops. Since then, the MINI Brand in the U.S. has grown to encompass a model range of six unique vehicles.

About Feeding America
Feeding America is the nationwide network of 200 food banks that leads the fight against hunger in the United States. Together, we provide food to more than 46 million people through 60,000 food pantries and meal programs in communities across America. Feeding America also supports programs that improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Journalist notes: Media information about MINI and its products is available to journalists on-line at www.miniusanews.com.  Follow us on Twitter at@MINIUSANEWS

Consumer information about MINI products is available via the internet at: www.MINIUSA.com.